Lesson 15 - Trabajos (Jobs)
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Pages in this lesson: Jobs - Irregular verbs - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz
This page: Learn the Irregular verbs in Spanish.
Irregular verbs
Grammar Lesson
You have already learned some irregular verbs. The verbs ser (from lesson 3), estar (from lesson 4) and tener (from lesson 6) are all irregular verbs. You also learned verbs that are irregular only in the yo form in lesson 14. In this lesson you will learn more irregular verbs including the verb ir (to go), verbs that have stems that change in the present tense and verbs whose spelling changes in certain forms. There are a lot of new verbs on this page, and you can't be expected to memorize them all. Focus on getting familiar with the types of stem changes. You will be re-introduced to the verbs again as they are used in futures lessons.
ir (to go)
Click on the forms of the verb in the table below to hear the pronunciation and repeat.
| Subject pronouns | Form of ir | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | ► voy | I go |
| tú | ► vas | you go |
| usted, él, ella | ► va | you go/he goes/she goes |
| nosotros, nosotras | ► vamos | we go |
| vosotros, vosotras | ► vais | you go (used in Spain only) |
| ustedes, ellos, ellas | ► van | you go/they go |
Section 1
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb ir (to go).
Stem-Changing Verbs
Stem-changing verbs are verbs where the stem (middle part of the verb) changes in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
e → ie
In these verbs the letter e in the stem of the verb changes to ie in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
- cerrar (to close) - cierro, cierras, cierra, cerramos, cerráis, cierran
- comenzar (to begin) - comienzo, comienzas, comienza, comenzamos, comenzáis, comienzan
- defender (to defend) - defiendo, defiendes, defiende, defendemos, defendéis, defienden
- entender (to understand) - entiendo, entiendes, entiende, entendemos, entendéis, entiende
- empezar (to begin) - empiezo, empiezas, empieza, empezamos, empezáis, empiezan
- mentir (to lie) - miento, mientes, miente, mentimos, mentís, mienten
- negar (to deny) - niego, niegas, niega, negamos, negáis, niegan
- pensar (to think) - pienso, piensas, piensa, pensamos, pensáis, piensan
- perder (to lose) - pierdo, pierdes, pierde, perdemos, perdéis, pierden
- preferir (to prefer) - prefiero, prefieres, prefiere, preferimos, preferís, prefieren
- querer (to want) - quiero, quieres, quiere, queremos, queréis, quieren
- sentir (to feel) - siento, sientes, siente, sentimos, sentís, sienten
- sugerir (to suggest) - sugiero, sugieres, sugiere, sugerimos, sugerís, sugieren
*The verbs tener and venir are stem-changing from E to IE but also have an irregular yo form.
- tener (to have) - tengo, tienes, tiene, tenemos, tenéis, tienen
- venir (to come) - vengo, vienes, viene, venimos, venís, vienen
Section 2
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.
o → ue, u → ue
In these verbs the letter o or u in the stem of the verb changes to ue in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
- acordar (to agree) - acuerdo, acuerdas, acuerda, acordamos, acordáis, acuerdan
- almorzar (to eat lunch) - almuerzo, almuerzas, almuerza, almorzamos, almorzáis, almuerzan
- apostar (to bet) - apuesto, apuestas, apuesta, apostamos, apostáis, apuestan
- contar (to count, to tell) - cuento, cuentas, cuenta, contamos, contáis, cuentan
- costar (to cost) - cuesto, cuestas, cuesta, costamos, costáis, cuestan
- devolver (to give back) - devuelvo, devuelves, devuelve, devolvemos, devolvéis, devuelven
- dormir (to sleep) - duermo, duermes, duerme, dormimos, dormís, duermen
- encontrar (to find) - encuentro, encuentras, encuentra, encontramos, encontráis, encuentran
- envolver (to wrap) - envuelvo, envuelves, envuelve, envolvemos, envolvéis, envuelven
- jugar (to play) - juego, juegas, juega, jugamos, jugáis, juegan
- morir (to die) - muero, mueres, muere, morimos, morís, mueren
- mostrar (to show) - muestro, muestras, muestra, mostramos, mostráis, muestran
- mover (to move) - muevo, mueves, mueve, movemos, movéis, mueven
- poder (to be able, can) - puedo, puedes, puede, podemos, podéis, pueden
- probar (to try) - pruebo, pruebas, prueba, probamos, probáis, prueban
- recordar (to remember) - recuerdo, recuerdas, recuerda, recordamos, recordáis, recuerdan
- volver (to return) - vuelvo, vuelves, vuelve, volvemos, volvéis, vuelven
In addition to having a stem change of the letter O to UE, the verb oler adds the H in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
- oler (to smell) - huelo, hueles, huele, olemos, oléis, huelen
Section 3
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.
e → i
In these verbs the letter e in the stem of the verb changes to i in all forms except nosotros and vosotros. A few of the verbs have minor orthographic changes (changes to spelling or accents) to retain their correct pronunciation. With the verbs corregir and elegir, the letter G changes to a J in the yo form to retain the soft G sound in Spanish (like the letter H in English). The verbs freír, reír and sonreír have an accent on the letter I to ensure that the stress is on the correct syllable.
- competir (to compete) - compito, compites, compite, competimos, competís, compiten
- corregir (to correct) - corrijo, corriges, corrige, corregimos, corregís, corrigen
- despedir (to say goodbye) - despido, despides, despide, despedimos, despedís, despiden
- elegir (to elect) - elijo, eliges, elige, elegimos, elegís, eligen
- freír (to fry) - frío, fríes, fríe, freímos, freís, fríen
- medir (to measure) - mido, mides, mide, medimos, medís, miden
- pedir (to ask for) - pido, pides, pide, pedimos, pedís, piden
- reír (to laugh) - río, ríes, ríe, reímos, reís, ríen
- repetir (to repeat) - repito, repites, repite, repetimos, repetís, repiten
- servir (to serve) - sirvo, sirves, sirve, servimos, servís, sirven
- sonreír (to smile) - sonrío, sonríes, sonríe, sonreímos, sonreís, sonríen
- vestir (to dress, to wear) - visto, vistes, viste, vestimos, vestís, visten
The following verbs have an irregular yo form in addition to having the e → i stem change.
- decir (to say) - digo, dices, dice, decimos, decís, dicen
- seguir (to follow) - sigo, sigues, sigue, segimos, segís, siguen
- conseguir (to get) - consigo, consigues, consigue, consegimos, consegís, consiguen
- perseguir (to pursue) - persigo, persigues, persigue, persegimos, persegís, persiguen
Section 4
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.
Verbs with orthographic changes
Some verbs have orthographic changes (changes to spelling or accents) to retain the correct pronuncation. An example is the verb enviar (to send). It is conjugated like a regular verb except that an accent is added to ensure that the correct syllable is stressed.
- enviar (to send) - envío, envías, envía, enviamos, enváis, envían
Verbs that end in -uir
Verbs that end in -uir add a letter Y in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
- construir (to build) - construyo, construyes, construye, construimos, construís, construyen
- contribuir (to contribute) - contribuyo, contribuyes, contribuye, contribuimos, contribuís, contribuyen
- disminuir (to diminish) - disminuyo, disminuyes, disminuye, disminuimos, disminuís, disminuyen
- distribuir (to distribute) - distribuyo, distribuyes, distribuye, distribuimos, distribuís, distribuyen
- huir (to flee) - huyo, huyes, huye, huimos, huis, huyen
- incluir (to include) - incluyo, incluyes, incluye, incluimos, incluís, incluyen
- sustituir (to substitute) - sustituyo, sustituyes, sustituye, sustituimos, sustituís, sustituyen
The verb oír follows a similar pattern in that a letter Y is added. It is also irregular in the yo form however.
- oír (to hear) - oigo, oyes, oye, oímos, oís, oyen
Section 5
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.
Find the mistake in the sentence and re-write it correctly in the space. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.
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Writing
Write five sentences about yourself in the present tense with verbs that you learned on this page.
- Examples:
- Voy a la escuela.
- Mi amigo quiere un carro nuevo.
If you want to type a special character (like an accented letter) in the comments section, you could do one of the following . . .
- Select and copy the character that you need → á é í ó ú ü ñ ¿ ¡ Á É Í Ó Ú Ü Ñ « »
- Use special codes on your computer if you have numeric keypad (instructions HERE).
- Type your sentences into the text box below and use the special character buttons provided. Then select and copy your text and paste it into the comments section.
If you see an error in someone else's sentence, please respond with the correction. Comments that are not from "Janet Castrejon" (the author of this page) do not represent Simplified Spanish. If someone is writing inappropriate comments on this webpage, please send a message to [email protected] and include the page that you saw the comment on.
Lesson 15 - Trabajos (Jobs)
Jobs - Irregular verbs - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz
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Pronouns - Pronunciation - Verbs
